Tans, Travel, and Transmission: The spread of a SARS-CoV-2 variant across Europe in summer 2020 | New Voices in Infection Biology

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Talk abstract:

During the spring and early summer of 2020, travel across Europe (as globally) was at a near standstill due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. However, in June, European borders began reopening, and tens of thousands of people celebrated the ends of lockdowns with holidays and travel. However, by the early autumn, incidence rates had once again risen markedly across Europe, and were dominated by one variant in particular: 20E (EU1). I'll discuss how we can follow this variant as it spread from Spain across Europe without any sign of increased transmission, but instead due to rising incidence in Spain, travel patterns, and lack of effective screening and containment. Finally, I'll highlight what important lessons we can learn from EU1, particularly as we consider new and emerging variants in 2021.